Abundance of Debutants in the Italian National Team

2026-09-19 11:28 © AP

The head coach of the Italian national team Roberto Mancini has announced a list of 34 players for the upcoming UEFA Nations League group matches against Turkey, Belgium, and France.

For the first time, nine footballers have been called up to the national team: Bologna goalkeeper Massimo Pessina, Roma defender Daniele Ghilardi, Brentford full-back Michael Kayode, Monza defender Eddy Kouadio, Cagliari midfielder Alessandro Romano, Lisbon Sporting talent Issa Doumbia, Sassuolo forward Sebastiano Esposito, Napoli representative Antonio Vergara, and Nurnberg forward Mohamed Ali Zoma.

Italian national team composition:

Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Massimo Pessina (Bologna), Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus).

Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Diego Coppola (Paris FC), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Roma), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Eddy Kouadio (Monza), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta).

Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Issa Doumbia (Sporting), Nicolo Fagioli (Fiorentina), Davide Frattesi (Lazio), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Alessandro Romano (Cagliari), Sandro Tonali (Tottenham).

Forwards: Nicolo Cambiaghi (Bologna), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Sebastiano Esposito (Sassuolo), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Moise Kean (Como), Daniel Maldini (Cagliari), Giacomo Raspadori (Atalanta), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Antonio Vergara (Napoli), Nicolo Zaniolo (Udinese), Mohamed Ali Zoma (Nurnberg).